Sewing Tip of the Week #1I have been in love with clothing since I was a little girl. How colors looked on a model, how the fabric draped, and most especially, how their full ensemble looked once all the pieces were in place all appealed to my visual and creative senses. I would spend hours a day designing new looks and rumminging through JC Penny, Sears and Speigal catalogs imagining the day I would make manifest the ideas on the sketch pad in front of me
When I was in highschool I took my hobby to the next level by designing prom dresses for my friends and classmates. Too impatient with all the seemingly unnecessary applications to utilize the McCall, Butterick and Vogue patterns available to me, I relied on a family friend to actually sew the designs into the beautiful eye catchers they were intended to be.
As I entered college and adult hood, the money I could stand to make by creating garments on campus became a way of paying my bills and putting food in my dorm fridge. But I still struggled with patterns and soon found myself feeling like a little girl in shoes to big, trying to make sense of it all.
Eventually, I did away with patterns alltogether and found salvation at off campus thrift stores and yard sales. If I saw a design in a fashion magazine or created on in my head, I would rummage through the racks until I found similar styles that I could DE-construct and then RE-construct into the desired garment. Problem solved! A cap sleeved top here, combined with a the hoodie of another jersey there, these pieces became my new patterns with a little creativity and determination. Once I found the look and proper size for myself or my excited clients, all I had to do was purchase the fabric and voila! Not only did construction now make sense, but it saved me money too. Sure, it took more time to find what I needed, but what artsy woman with an obsession for fashion doesn't enjoy a good treasure hunt now and then?
Today I have developed enough skill to make my own patterns or even go free style with none at all; just my good eye and steady hand. I can still be found between the isles of a Goodwill or Salvation Army, but now it is for a cause. Recycling clothing is a cool way to cut back on the overconsumption of natural resources and help save Mother Earth.
My sewing tip of the week? If conventional store bought patterns do not quite work for you, find what does. But whatever you do, never give up on yourself. A little ingenuity goes a long way and natural gifts are shameful to waste. Find your unique flo and fly!
Oh yeah, if you are looking for some cool fabrics, look no further.....J&O Fabrics has it all.
For fun novelty cotton fabric, click here!For all your collegic cotton fabric, click here!For hot designer dress fabric, click here!Posts by J&O
Fabrics StoreLabels: bike-novelty-cotton, college, conservative, deconstructed, frugal, pattern, pattern-making, reconstructive-garments, recontstructed, sewing-tips, thrifty
From
bamboo stalks and
Beijing playgrounds, to
Komichi Kanji and
Kawaii Home fabrics, J&O carries an array of colorful ethnic prints for all your crafting pleasures to help you celebrate the rich history, culture and contributions of Asian and Pacific Islanders both at home and abroad.
Create beautiful garments, home accent pieces, window dressings, furniture upholstery, bedding and one of a kind gift items inspired by the people and the lifestyle. Just go on our online store
http://www.jofabrics.com/, click on the
novelty fabric section and scroll down to
Oriental fabric to start filling your cart up with yards of fabulous fabric just in time for this national celebration. When you are ready to finalize your shopping cart, enter our special limited time
10% coupon code number: #WBAUG and check out. It couldn't be easier.
National Asian/Pacific Heritage Month ends May 31, and so does our special offer. But J&O Fabrics will continue to honor and recognize the rich Asian and Pacific Island cultures as well as the textile artists who bring us such visually pleasing designs 365 days a year. So add us to your fav's list if you haven't already, and enjoy the convenience of fabric at your fingertips.
Check out our array of colorful African fabrics here!Check out our selection of Egyptian fabrics here!Check out our selection of world cotton novelty fabric here!
Posts by J&O
Fabrics StoreLabels: asian, bamboo, beijing, bike-novelty-cotton, china, hawaii, kawaii, korea, national-asian-pacific-heritage-month, oriental, pacific-islander, pacific-islands, phillipines
May is National Bicycle Month and J&O is celebrating by offering
10% off selected novelty cotton and tapestry bicycle themed fabrics. From choppers and dirt bikes to professional race bikes and biker symbols, J&O has them and wants to share them with all of our riders througout the month of May.
Whether you are darting through Center City traffic on your blue BMX or peddling into work on your Tonino Lamborghini Leggenda 3-speed, bicycling is not only a great way to help save the planet through the reduction of air pollution caused by excess car emission fumes, but is an enjoyable, stimulating, and healthy mode of transpo for all ages
Select from one, five, or more yards of the bicycle themed prints offered in this J&O
10% off special, and join others in this month long celebration encouraging both physical fitness and the love of bicycles that are as unique and individualized as you.
Special Offer Fabric items. Ends 10/10/09spo000188tap00066Coupon Code : iluvbikesPosts by J&O
Fabrics StoreLabels: bicycles, bike-novelty-cotton, bike-upholstery, college-cotton, conservative, frugal, may, national-bicycle-month, sustainable-living